Hands-on engineering at Shire Hall Open Day
CSES brought practical engineering to Shire Hall Open Day on 12 September 2026 with an interactive Egg Drop Challenge for children and families.
Around 25–30 children took part during the day, designing and testing their own egg-protection systems. The challenge encouraged participants to explore basic ideas in physics and engineering, including air resistance, parachutes, surface area, impact speed and energy absorption.
Designing and Testing
Children were encouraged to think about why their designs might work before putting them to the test. Some designs survived successfully, while others provided valuable lessons about how small changes can make a big difference.
The newly developed Egg Drop scoring system was also used at the event for the first time. Its animated interface proved particularly popular with the children and made the scoring process more engaging.
The activity gradually attracted more visitors throughout the day, with children often joining after watching others take part. This made the challenge an enjoyable and accessible way to introduce young people to practical engineering.
Overall, the Egg Drop Challenge was a successful STEM outreach activity, combining creativity, experimentation and engineering in a simple hands-on challenge.